James Hilton’s enduring 1933 classic introduces one of literature’s most famous imagined places: Shangri-La, a hidden Himalayan valley where peace, beauty, and extraordinary longevity seem to exist beyond the reach of the outside world.
British diplomat Hugh Conway is fleeing political turmoil when he and three companions are mysteriously taken deep into the Himalayas. There they discover Shangri-La, a secluded valley and lamasery hidden from the outside world. As Conway learns more about this extraordinary community, he must confront the tension between the peaceful existence he has discovered and the troubled world he left behind.
Hilton’s atmospheric novel blends adventure, mystery, romance, and utopian fantasy into a lasting story about civilization, war, and the possibility of a different way of life.
This handsome 1990 Reader’s Digest “The World’s Best Reading” edition features illustrations by Robert Andrew Parker and an afterword by Warren Eyster. The book has distinctive decorative boards with a pictorial Tibetan mountain scene and gold-gilt lettering, along with the original Reader’s Digest “The World’s Best Reading” pamphlet laid in. No dust jacket was issued for this edition.
About the Author
James Hilton (1900–1954) was an English novelist and screenwriter best known for Lost Horizon and Goodbye, Mr. Chips. His novels became international bestsellers, and he later established a successful career in Hollywood, where he worked as a screenwriter and won an Academy Award for his work on Mrs. Miniver.
